Cranford student Gelber wins piano composition competition

Ben Gelber of Cranford is the 2013 First Place Winner of the Eric Steiner Piano Composition Competition sponsored by the Music Educators Association of New Jersey.

Ben Gelber of Cranford is the 2013 First Place Winner of the Eric Steiner Piano Composition Competition sponsored by the Music Educators Association of New Jersey.

Gelber performed his winning composition, Blancheur, at New Jersey City University on March 17 and received an honorarium for it. Gelber is 15 years old and attends Cranford High School. He has studied piano for six years with Nancy Modell of Springfield, a certified Suzuki Method Instructor and a graduate of Ithaca College's School of Music.

"Music Inspired by Nature" was the theme that Modell suggested to her piano students in the fall when she challenged them to compose their own pieces. Blancheur was inspired by the "whiteness" of snow, and was composed over the course of a few wintry days. Last year, in response to Modell's suggestion to write a composition inspired by art, Gelber rendered an original oil painting Swamp, and composed a piano piece with the same name as an aural companion to his visual artwork.

In addition to piano and composition, Gelber enjoys playing electric bass and participates in the Men's Chorus at Cranford High School. He was also seen on stage playing the role of Mr. Collins in the school's fall production of Pride & Prejudice. Ben's interest in composition and digital music will take him to Summer College for High School Students at Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y., where he will learn about digital music production using their state-of-the-art facility and equipment.